“Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4b NKJ
Before I speak to the definition and purpose of the staff I want us to fully embrace a truth so that we understand how Jesus, our Good Shepherd, uses the staff (Holy Spirit) to lead and guide us from green pasture to green pasture and from still waters to still waters. And I want us to embrace the truth that in following His lead we will be given safe passage to our new home in Heaven. If we have said yes to Jesus Christ we will go to heaven, but there is a journey we have to take on this earth before we get there. He is our Shepherd who was chosen to lead us on this journey called life. It is in understanding this truth that will make it easier for us to accept the Shepherd’s guidance when He uses the staff (Holy Spirit) to guide us, rescue us, and care for us. So today we will look at the role of the shepherd and the difference between a shepherd in the natural, and Jesus Christ, our Good Shepherd.
Imagine for a moment what it was like for a young boy who had been chosen to be the shepherd in his family. Though it was an honor to be chosen, the boy knew the assignment was not an easy one. He knew he would face hardship and danger on the journey and the only thing he could rely on were the instructions of his father, his rod and staff, and his ability to execute his father’s instructions in using them. He knew how important it was to fully adhere to his father’s instructions if he was going to lead the sheep safely home after the journey was over. But for the love of his father and for the sheep he gladly accepted his assigned position as the chosen shepherd.
During his time with his father he listens closely as his father trains him how to care for the sheep. He is given instructions on how to lead the sheep from green pasture to green pasture, and from still waters to still waters. He is trained how to defend the sheep and he learns how to fight off the predators that would attack his flock. He is given instructions on how to lead the sheep with the staff and shown how to rescue a sheep if it got caught in the thicket. He is trained how to use the rod as a weapon against any adversary he might encounter. The father takes the boy to a ewe that has just given birth and tells him that if the lamb gets separated from its mother, he is to use the crook of the staff to return the lamb. This is done to ensure that the mother will not reject it, due to the smell of human hands.
The father then takes the boy on a journey in search of the wood that he will craft his rod and staff from. When they return from the journey the father instructs him on how to carefully carve his rod and staff because these are his instruments of care and protection for the sheep. His father takes great care in teaching the boy everything he needs to know so the boy is fully equipped for his job of being the shepherd. Like the boy Jesus was chosen by the Father to become our Shepherd. Throughout His ministry He said that He did nothing on His own, but only what the Father had instructed Him. But a very interesting difference between a shepherd in the natural, and Jesus as our Shepherd, is that Jesus actually became a sheep before He became our Shepherd. A shepherd in the natural couldn’t become a sheep if he tried. He could have love and compassion for the sheep only from the experience of being a shepherd and seeing the sheep’s need for care and protection.
Jesus on the other hand learned compassion for His sheep by actually becoming one of them and then suffering everything a sheep would ever suffer; so that He would fully understand what it was like to be a sheep. 1 Peter 1:18-19 says, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” Revelation 5:12b says, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Revelation 5:13b says, “Blessing and honor and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!”
In order to fully identify with our sufferings Jesus came to earth as a man (sheep) walked as we walk, endured what we endure, was tempted as we are tempted, and suffered as we suffer! He gave up His rightful place in Heaven and walked the journey as a sheep, being led by His Shepherd, the Father, so that He would fully understand His position as our Good Shepherd. It brings tears to my eyes as I think of how much he loved us that He would make such an incredible sacrifice for us! To become our Shepherd He laid down His own life and was slaughtered as a lamb!
Prayer: Today I want to encourage you to pray as you are led by the Spirit. I write prayers as I feel the Spirit leads, but today the leading was to tell you to pray on your own. The words the Lord gave me in this devotion brought me to my knees as I embraced the very things I asked you to embrace. I cried a flood of tears as I realized how I have not fully grasped the truth about who Jesus is as our Good Shepherd. Though I have embraced it throughout my life, reading what He gave me to pen today revealed areas in my own life; where I do not fully understand Him as my Shepherd. It is with great love for us that He gave His life for us! This is what we need to pray in order to fully comprehend the enormity of His sacrifice. This is what will empower us to accept His leading as our Shepherd.
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